Ancient Words, Modern Message

It’s Just Like His Great Love!

Sadly, there are those who maintain that the God of the Bible is a God of vengeance and wrath who seems to enjoy condemning and punishing people.  This could not be any further from the truth, as expressed in both the Old and New Testaments.
 
Ezekiel 33:11—Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. . .
 
2 peter 3:9—The lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness, but is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
 
In yet another demonstration of the Prophet Jonah’s human frailty—warts and all—the final chapter in the book of Jonah begins with him pouting because God chose to withhold judgment from Israel’s enemies, the Assyrian Ninevites, because they actually had “the audacity” to repent!
 
We’ll consider the various dimensions of the contrast between the nature and character of God and the nature and character of man as displayed in the fourth chapter of Jonah as we move through this fourth part of the series:  “Jonah:  I Did It MY Way,” an episode with a title drawn from an old Gospel song, “It’s Just Like His Great Love!”
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Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message.
If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.

I was AFRAID that would happen!

The Old Testament Prophet Isaiah reminded the Jewish people of his day that God’s ways are very different from man’s ways as God spoke through him declaring:
 
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.  (Isaiah 55:8-9)
 
Nowhere is this contrast between God’s ways and man’s ways clearer than in the account of another Old Testament prophet who lived a century before Isaiah, the prophet Jonah.
 
What happens when one who should faithfully determine to “do it God’s way” decides instead to “do it my way”?  One such scenario is displayed in this next study of the book of Jonah.
 
Chapter three of the book recounts a most unlikely response to a most unlikely message preached by a most unlikely prophet, but even more dramatic is the contrast between the character of God and His ways and the character of the prophet and his ways.
 
Let’s turn to Jonah chapter three for another study in the series, “Jonah:  I Did It MY Way” in an episode with the intriguing, but perplexing title:  “I Was Afraid That Would Happen!” 
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Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message.
If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.

Prayer from the Depth of Despair

Arguably one of the more flawed characters in the Old Testament Scriptures is the prophet Jonah who, in the candid words of some commentators, appears in the text, “warts and all.”
While we would expect that a “man of God” would always respond obediently to God’s call, immersing himself in prayer, Jonah is the antithesis of this expectation as he runs away from the divine call of duty and uses prayer only as a last resort.
In today’s study in the series, “I Did It My Way—Studies in the Book of Jonah,” we look at Jonah, chapter two, which finds the prophet in the belly of the great fish, about as low as any man could go.  
What happens next is yet another example of God’s grace and mercy, as well as HIs persistent hand on those He would use to fulfill HIs purpose.  
So let’s turn now to the second chapter of Jonah for this episode entitled, “Prayer from the Depth of Despair.”
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Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message.
If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.

In the School of Big Fish

In 1968 Frank Sinatra recorded a song which quickly became his signature musical theme.  It was an immediate hit and was later recorded and released by Elvis Presley with similar reception by listeners around the world.  No doubt the song’s rapid climb and enduring presence on the charts, including induction of Sinatra’s version to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2000, was due to the compatibility of the lyrics with the spirit of self-centered individualism dominating modern thought.
It is one thing for people, in general, to agree with Frank’s musical philosophy, but it is quite another when those who know God and are called to serve Him adopt that same philosophy, resolving to do it their way.  However, this is exactly the case with the prophet Jonah as demonstrated in the Old Testament book which bears his name.
We will examine the pitfalls and consequences of that kind of thinking in a four-part series aptly
entitled, “I Did It My Way:  Studies in the Book of Jonah.”  Join us now for the first episode which we call, “In the School of Big Fish.”
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Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message.
If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.

Blessed Assurance!

The autumn of each year is a very important time for Jewish people around the world as they observe one of the most festive days on their religious calendar, followed shortly by the most solemn day on their religious calendar.
 
In this episode of “Ancient Words, Modern Message,” Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship, invites listeners to put a “shmear” of cream cheese on a bagel and “gnosh” away as he offers his latest informal discussion of all things Jewish in this seventh “Bagel-side Chat.”
 
For Jews and Gentiles alike, the tension between our sinful imperfection and God’s standard of  absolute holiness and righteousness poses a major problem, causing us to ask, “Can I ever be certain of God’s forgiveness?” and “How can I know for sure where I’m going when I die?”
 
That’s the subject of this chat, with answers from God’s Word, the Bible, so welcome to this episode entitled simply “Blessed Assurance!”
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Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message.
If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.

Two Sticks, One People, One Promise

The title of this six-part series of studies in the Old Testament Book of Ezekiel, “True Grit, Great Glory,” is a spin-off from the 1969 film, “True Grit,” starring John Wayne in the role of Rooster Cogburn, the living embodiment of “true grit,” getting the job done, no matter how difficult.
 
Arguably the best example of “true grit” in the Old Testament Scriptures is the prophet Ezekiel who “got the job done” in spite of adverse circumstances, “the job” being that of proclaiming God’s message concerning the future of Israel and the Jewish people.
 
Ezekiel’s stye was certainly eccentric, though admittedly driven by God’s unusual demands on him, but his obedience was unwavering and his message was clear and powerful.
 
Who would think that a clear and powerful message could be drawn from a handful of sticks, but that is exactly the point of our study of Ezekiel 37:15-28, the last in this series, an episode we call, “Two Sticks, One People, One Promise.”
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Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message.
If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.

Lessons from Death Valley

There may not be many folks within the sound of my voice who are old enough to remember the television western series, “Death Valley Days,” but I am!
The series, first aired in 1952, was set in what has been identified as the hottest place on earth in the summer, a place where dry, lifeless, parched bones are scattered, a reminder of the irreversible nature of death.
It was to such a place that the prophet Ezekiel was taken in a prophetic vision where he received a revelation of the future of national Israel and the Jewish people displayed in a strange, but vividly dramatic way.
Many people are familiar with this story of Ezekiel and the dry bones—even those who don’t know much else about the Old Testament prophets—but most are unaware of the real message contained in the story, namely that God is not finished with national Israel and the Jewish people as a whole, that their ultimate future is as amazing and miraculous as dry bones in Death Valley restored to vibrant life.
Especially now, as once again the state of Israel is surrounded by enemies bent on its destruction, it is important to turn to God’s Word for a glimpse into the future to provide strength for today.  Let’s do that as we consider Ezekiel 37 in the fifth segment in this series, “True Grit, Great Glory:  Studies in the Book of Ezekiel,” an episode entitled, “Lessons from Death Valley.”
 
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Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message.
If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.

History’s Greatest Heart Transplant

The Bible is replete with accounts of dramatic transformations of individuals, of which perhaps the most stunning is the conversion of Saul of Tarsus on the Road to Damascus, thereafter known as the Apostle Paul.  In each case it can certainly be said that there was a “change of heart.”
 
While taken together, all of these accounts dealing with single individuals, are certainly astonishing and demand our attention, far more remarkable though is an event in the future foretold by the Prophet Ezekiel, when not just individuals, but an entire nation will have “a change of heart.”
 
Thanks to the great advancements in medical science, a successful surgical heart transplant is no longer such a remote possibility and rare event, though certainly noteworthy and a great accomplishment.  However, far more striking is the transplant at the “heart” of national Israel.
 
With this in mind, let’s turn to Ezekiel 36:25-38 in this next part of the series, “True Grit, Great Glory:  Studies in the Book of Ezekiel,” an episode entitled, “History’s Greatest Heart Transplant.”
 
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Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message.
If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.

Tough Love in the Holy Land

As parents of young children recognize, after sternly correcting and disciplining a son or a daughter, it is important to then provide a warm hug—literally, figuratively, or both—and the assurance of love, with a strong dose of encouragement.  This is the essence of “tough love.”
 
The sixth century B.C. Old Testament prophet Ezekiel—a truly stout-hearted man of true grit—pulled no punches in addressing his own Jewish people with the message of divine discipline, but following it up with encouraging words as assurance of God’s everlasting love for them.
 
In this third installment of the series, “True Grit, Great Glory—Studies in the Book of Ezekiel,”  we consider the prophet’s message to the Jews of the Southern Kingdom of Israel at a very discouraging time in an episode we call, “Tough Love in the Holy Land.”
 
So, with a Bible open to Ezekiel, chapter thirty-six, let’s carefully consider these “ancient words” and their “modern message.”
 
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Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message.
If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.

God’s Plan for the People and the Place

Of all of the Old Testament prophets—and they were indeed a colorful and “quirky” bunch—it can most certainly be said that the “quirkiest” and the “true-gritiest” of them all was Ezekiel!
 
In today’s study of the book of Ezekiel we consider the prophet’s address, not to the people, but to the very land of Israel, from his exile in Babylon.  We will note the God-ordained connection between the Jewish people and their ancient homeland, a connection seen throughout history, but one that becomes more and more prominent in modern history, leading up to the day when Israel’s Messiah, the Savior of the World, will reign from there.
 
So, with Bibles open to Ezekiel thirty-six, verses one through fifteen, let’s listen in as we move through this second study in the series enittled, “True Grit, Great Glory,” an episode we call “God’s Plan for the People and the Place.”
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Thank you for listening to Ancient Words, Modern Message. You can expect episodes twice a month on Monday.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is supported by Hebrew Christian Fellowship. To learn more about our ministry, or to ask a question, contact HCFellowship4819@gmail.com. We might just answer your question on a future episode of Ancient Words, Modern Message.
If you know a person that you think would benefit from this teaching, please share it with them. And if you’d like to support Ancient Words, Modern Message, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the podcast even better and reach new listeners.
Ancient Words, Modern Message is produced by Studio D Podcast Production and hosted by Rev. Roger Wambold, Director of Hebrew Christian Fellowship.